In the Darkness
by Indigo2
Summary: Legolas does not like the dark. Companion piece to Somewhere Between. *FINALLY* updated!
1. Part 1

DISCLAIMER: I own none of the characters or places written about in this fic. I'm pretty sure everyone knows that, so please do not sue me.  
  
A/N: This takes place after my story Somewhere Between, and mentions issues that happened in that fic. You can probably get the main idea of this one if you haven't read it, but I highly recommend reading Somewhere Between first. Reviews, as always, are treasured!!  
  
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In the Darkness  
  
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The first step was not the hardest, though it well should have been. Instead, the first step was in flight from something Legolas would have much rather faced than this all enveloping darkness the Fellowship walked in now.  
  
Two days they had been trudging over stone and under the earth. Two days of blindness and cold and death all around them. Legolas tried to stay at the front of the line, as close to Gandalf's light as he could get. If any of the others noticed, they said nothing. He did not know when he had lagged behind until he was finally trailing the small band. His breath caught as Gandalf rounded a bend and the light was lost. His steps faltered and he caught himself on the rock wall, breathing heavily for an Elf.  
  
"Legolas!" he heard Aragorn hiss in front of him, but he could not move for the love of Elbereth herself.  
  
He felt rather than saw a sturdy, worn hand on his arm, drawing him forward. "We must go on," Aragorn said, leading him slowly.  
  
"This darkness!" Legolas gasped. "'Tis unnatural, is it not?"  
  
Aragorn nodded, though Legolas could barely see the movement. "Aye. I do not like this, and I have been through Moria before and you have not. I had the benefit of knowing what to expect."  
  
They rounded the corner and Gandalf's light came into view again. Legolas relaxed slightly, but Aragorn kept his hand on his friend's arm as they kept the rear guard together. They moved in silence, Aragorn following Legolas when they had to walk in single file, guiding the Elf forward when he faltered or stopped.  
  
"How did Elladan survive in such darkness?" Legolas asked himself quietly, out of the hearing of the others.  
  
Aragorn heard the Elf's query and his heart sank. He knew well what had happened to his foster brother in the den of the orcs, though it was many many years before his birth. He still remembered when Elrohir told him the tale, after Elladan had taken ill during one harsh winter. Elves did not become ill, he had thought, and it was even more alarming that Legolas had come the distance from Mirkwood to care for Elladan. Elrohir took him aside to the library and explained how his brother had almost died at the hands of the orcs, then of grief after that. Elrohir told him that Elladan had healed well, but the memories still haunted him when winter was too long and cold. Elladan spent the last week of that winter in bed, by order of Lord Elrond, but had been well again by the time the first green leaves unfurled in the spring.  
  
Aragorn was brought out of his reverie by a soft voice calling his name. He turned to answer, thinking it to be Legolas at first, but found Frodo's blue eyes regarding him instead.  
  
"Aragorn?" Frodo was asking. "What ails Legolas so?"  
  
Aragorn cast his eyes to see Legolas lying a short distance away, eyes unfocused in sleep, but uneasy all the same. He looked back at Frodo, who was clambering down to sit beside him on the worn stone.  
  
"There are few things that can ail an Elf in Middle Earth, but one is memory; their lives are long, and their memories are longer still. Legolas remembers when Elladan, my foster brother and the son of Elrond, was taken prisoner by orcs and held for days in their caves," Aragorn said in a low voice to keep from waking the Elf and allowing the others to hear.  
  
Frodo nodded, though his full mouth pressed into a thin line. "I remember what Uncle Bilbo used to tell me about the Wood Elves. He said that they were wilder than other Elves; that they can hear the trees speak as clearly as I hear you speak, and above all love the stars. I cannot imagine what it must be like for Legolas, trapped under the ground as we are."  
  
"It will not be for much longer," Aragorn assured him. "Another day, perhaps one after that, but no more. Legolas can survive for at least that much longer. Silvan Elves are not meant to dwell in the ground, as Hobbits and Dwarves do, but their fire burns bright in dark places." Aragorn could not help but look to the sleeping Elf again. "You should go rest now, Frodo," he said. "Sam is waiting for you, even though he pretends that he is already asleep."  
  
Frodo smiled at his servant's selflessness, but went over and laid down on the bedroll spread out for him. Aragorn waited until Frodo was settled, then rose himself, nodding to Boromir who stood watch with Gandalf's light shining closely. Aragorn fetched his own bedroll and laid it between the Hobbits and the Elf. He was drifting off to sleep when he was once again dragged back into full wakefulness by a voice.  
  
"Aragorn," the voice breathed. He turned his head and saw that Legolas had moved closer to him and was mere inches away, staring at the Ranger intently. Aragorn waited for the comment that was to follow, but none came and Legolas lay back down without another word.  
  
"I wish Elladan was here, too," Aragorn said softly to nothing but the darkness around them. 


	2. Part 2: The first night

A/N: FINALLY!! I have updated this fic! Pigs are flying outside my window, the sky is falling, there's a blizzard reported in hell, and I'm getting straight A's in all my classes! Seriously, this fic isn't quite done yet, but it will be fairly short. (Unlike the unending monster that "Cry of the Eagle" is becoming). Thanks for all the support I've gotten, and I'm sorry that this part is so short. I PROMISE to have the next part up really soon!  
  
WARNINGS: None here. Nope. Not at all. Too bad for you.  
  
Part 2: The first night  
  
Legolas awoke suddenly, drawing breath so quickly that it was almost painful. His eyes focused, but for some reason there was total darkness around him. His eyes were open, were they not? Yes. Had he been sick? Wounded? Blinded?  
  
A hand on his arm made him turn his head, though he could no see the owner. He could smell leather and blood and dust, and that unmistakable scent of Man. Aragorn, he sighed. It was Aragorn. He remembered then where he was, and how he had come there. Moria. He would learn to despise that name 'ere this adventure was through, he knew.  
  
Legolas shifted uncomfortably on the roughly hewn stone they lay on. He did not know how many hours were left for them to rest before they had to move on, and he thought it best to try to sleep again. He could not settle his mind, however he tried. The hand on his arm did not leave, and he felt it move softly, trying to soothe him back to sleep.  
  
"It is of no use," Legolas muttered to himself. "I can find no peace here."  
  
He moved to rise, but the hand tightened on his arm and pulled him back down. "Lie still at least," Aragorn whispered in Elvish. "You know not where the little ones lie, and you will disturb them if you move about."  
  
Legolas considered the truth of that and settled back down into his bed roll. He could hear Aragorn's breathing next to him, and the soft mutterings of one of the hobbits not far away. They were both interrupted by the harsh snore of the dwarf, and Legolas had to still his hand from throwing a rock towards the sound.  
  
Aragorn chuckled as he felt the elf tense under his hand. "Tell me a tale if you cannot keep yourself still," he whispered.  
  
"Remember them yourself!" Legolas replied. "You have heard all the Elvish tales from the lips of Master Elrond himself."  
  
"Strider..?" a sleepy voice asked from somewhere close by.  
  
"Here, little one," Aragorn said.  
  
Legolas felt the hand move from his arm and was at once sorry for the loss of its reassuring weight and warmth. But suddenly there were impossibly small hands groping around his shoulder in the darkness. They drew back suddenly when they felt his long, silky hair.  
  
"Oh! I am sorry, Legolas. I can't see a thing in this dark! I wish we had some of Gandalf's fireworks to light up this place."  
  
"Pippin, is it?" Legolas whispered, drawing the little form closer to him. "You were not far off your mark. Aragorn is here, on my other side." He easily lifted the hobbit and placed him between Aragorn and himself.  
  
"Ah! Strider!" Pippin said so loudly he had to be hushed. "I thought I heard your voice, so I thought you were awake, and I was awake, too, so I thought we could be awake together."  
  
Aragorn hushed him again. "Why can't you sleep, Pip?" he said with all the patience he could muster.  
  
"It's too dark," he complained. "It's always dark at night, but here it seems like it's brighter with my eyes closed than when they're open."  
  
Legolas was surprised to feel that Pippin had turned to snuggle into his chest. He could feel his soft curls tickling his chin and warm breath on his neck. "I think you glow in the dark, Legolas," Pippin said, being very careful to keep his voice low. "Like a giant firefly that doesn't need to glow so bright because it's so big."  
  
Legolas stroked Pippin's curls, ignoring Aragorn's quiet laughter as he turned to go back to sleep. Let the two insomniacs keep each other company, Legolas was sure he was thinking.  
  
Pippin was miraculously silent after the last comment, and mercifully fell asleep almost immediately. He was just afraid of the dark, Legolas mused. It was a natural fear, after all, and surely it was magnified by being in this deep, dark, unnatural and unholy terrifying place, wasn't it?  
  
Wasn't it?  
  
But Legolas was asleep with Pippin curled in his arms. 


	3. Part 3: The second day

A/N: Thanks for hanging in there with me. This fic took a weird turn on me, it seems. It was supposed to be all dark and angsty, but then it turned, well...fluffy. Hmm..I'm going to see what I can do about that. But in the meantime, read on and review!  
  
Part 3: The Second Day  
  
The day was filled with darkness all around and cold, harsh stone beneath the feet of the Company. There was silence for the most part, interrupted at odd intervals by the clattering of a fallen pebble or a hurried whisper of instruction. Still, the Company moved on at a steady pace, despite the falling spirits.  
  
Legolas kept his place between the pairs of Hobbits, looming over them as a strong oak protects the fragile plants beneath its branches. It was Pippin who insisted that he stay near, though the Elf thought that odd as Gimli or Boromir or Aragorn would seem far better to turn to in this dark, deep place. Still, he was not about to go against Pippin's insistence.  
  
Legolas kept his eyes on the light and his ears on the steady footfalls of Aragorn at the rear of the Company. He would have much preferred to stay with the Ranger, but both he and Aragorn knew that he would be of more use helping the Hobbits than left with his own thoughts in the dark. His mind was drifting back to the lazy winters he spent in Imladris, huddled in front of the hearth in Elladan's room while they listened to Elrohir playing on his harp. He smiled to himself and began to absently hum one of Elrohir's favorite tunes.  
  
"Legolas?" he heard a voice and a tug on his sleeve.  
  
Legolas looked down to see Pippin staring up at him with wide eyes. "What are you singing?"  
  
"Singing? I was not aware, Pippin. But I was thinking of a song that Elrohir would play for Elladan and I when it was cold and dark," Legolas replied.  
  
"Could you sing it now? I think it's cold and dark enough for it here," Pippin pleaded, wanting a distraction.  
  
"I would gladly sing it for you, but it has no words and I have no harp to play it on," Legolas said regretfully.  
  
"How do you know Lord Elrond's sons?" Frodo's voice broke in from in front of him. "I saw them for only a moment or two while we were in Rivendell, but they looked quite fearsome to me."  
  
Legolas laughed, and he knew that Aragorn was smiling behind them. "Perhaps at first glance, but they are as merry as Hobbits and as crafty as foxes when the mood takes them. They are warriors, but they fight to protect their home and family above all else."  
  
Legolas fell suddenly quiet, immersed in his own thoughts. It was Pippin's tug on his hand that brought his attention back to world around him. "Do you miss them?" Pippin asked shyly.  
  
"Yes, young Pippin. I miss them very much."  
  
Pippin nodded, but did not let go of Legolas's hand. Legolas allowed it, as he did not mind the contact, and he knew the little one was trying to comfort him in his own way. He was suddenly very glad of Pippin's hand in his when the walkway beneath them groaned and rumbled. Immediately, Gandalf had his arms around Frodo and Sam, pulling them forward out of harm's way as a great section of stone crumbled and fell away into darkness. Legolas tightened his hold on Pippin's hand and barely grasped Merry's pack soon enough to lunge backwards, away from the rift. They lay panting in the dirt, and Legolas felt Aragorn and Boromir lifting the Hobbits out of his grasp. Aragorn's hands were on him them, lifting him easily to his feet. Indeed, he was glad of those steadying hands, as he was nearly on the edge of an impressive chasm, spanning more than his height across.  
  
"Aragorn!" he heard Gimli cry. "We have only two of the Hobbits here!"  
  
"Aye, we have two more and a bruised Elf on this side," Aragorn said, breathing a great sigh of relief at the fact that Frodo and Sam were safe, though shaken.  
  
The dust settled, and they were better able to gauge the size of the rift. Legolas could jump it easily, as could Aragorn and Boromir. The Hobbits, however, looked terrified at the notion of having to leap across an unknown depth that was twice their size across. Finally, Merry leapt across at the urging of Sam and Frodo, landing quite safely in Boromir's outstretched arms. Pippin was left alone with Aragorn on the other side, looking nervously from him to the waiting party.  
  
"I can't!" he cried. "It's too far!."  
  
"Come now, Peregrin," Gandalf chided gently. "Merry made it across almost as easily as Legolas had. We would find some other way if we didn't believe you could do it."  
  
Legolas was surprised to see that Pippin's eyes landed on him immediately. Legolas steadied himself on the brink of the chasm and held his arms out. "Come on, Pippin!" He encouraged with as much brightness as could put in his voice. "I'll catch you! You know I can."  
  
At last, Pippin, with a good running start, leapt across the chasm. Legolas caught him easily, though he was glad that the young Hobbit's eyes were closed so that he could not see exactly how close he had come. Pippin buried his face into Legolas's shoulder for a moment before he allowed himself to be set down amidst the Hobbit hugs of his friends. Legolas grinned as he reached out a steadying hand for Aragorn, who took it gratefully as he jumped across, though he did not need it.  
  
"Of course, it has to be dramatic danger to put a genuine smile on your face, Legolas," Aragorn laughed.  
  
"Aye," Legolas laughed in return. "All I need now is an army of orcs and a cave troll to put me in a truly good mood." 


	4. IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE

A/N: I have decided to post this Author's Note on my stories that are currently in progress. Okay, I'm very upset over ff.net's new policies regarding NC-17 stories. I'm not nearly as affected as a lot of writers out there, as I can pull a few chapters from my stories and get away with an R rating, and the story (though bowdlerized) is relatively okay. But PLEASE show your favorite authors your support, especially if you've never dropped them a line before. A lot of authors might disappear in the next few weeks, and they would all appreciate your comments and support! And of course, thank you to the people who have taken their time to review my stories.  
  
GRATUITOUS SELF PROMOTION: Aww, come on, you didn't expect me to leave it at that, did you! Well, if you like Elrohir and Elladan (as I sure do!) but especially Elrohir, then you HAVE to check out my new story The Stable Boy. You just might like it. ;) Anyway, I had to tack this on the end, of my Very Important Author's Note . 


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